On July 23, 1989, the Voyager 2 spacecraft took this picture of Neptune through a clear filter on its narrow-angle camera. The image on the right has a latitude and longitude grid added for reference.

Neptune's Great Dark Spot is visible on the left limb of the planet at about 22.5 degrees south latitude. In previous photographs, less detail was visible; now additional structure associated with the dark spot has become apparent. The jagged right edge of the large spot is real and is probably caused by cloud motion. Voyager 2 was about 47 million kilometers (29 million miles) from Neptune when this picture was taken. The smaller dark spot in the southern dark band is visible on the lower right with a small, light circle at its center.

The Voyager Project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.